Final breaths
by YourPicture
Summary: Garry couldn't imagine that his life would end in a weird art gallery, protecting a nine year old girl he just met, but still cares deeply enough for to sacrifice his own life for. This is Garry's final moments, laying alone in a star-painted corridor. Based on the Ib all alone/Forgotten portrait endings of the game.


Garry can feel every single petal that Mary is pulling free from his rose, and it's like when the Blue Lady got it, all over again. He does his best to keep up with the little girl who is walking slightly in front of him, but he can't. He stops in the middle of the corridor, panting hard and slightly crouching.

Ib walks a few steps before she realizes that she doesn't hear her friend's footsteps anymore, and quickly turns around and goes back to him. She grabs the sleeve of his jacket softly and looks into Garry's eyes.  
"Ib, um... I'm sorry, but could you go ahead?"  
She looks surprised, and her grip on his coat tightens a little bit. Ib is a tough and clever girl, Garry knows that. Heck, she's even braver than him, most of the time. But she's still just nine years old, and shouldn't have to witness what's about to happen with him. She doesn't need more nightmare fuel than she already has obtained from their time in the gallery.  
"I'm... I'm sorry. I don't really know what to say. I don't want to lie to you, but I don't want to tell the truth either."  
He gives her a weak smile perhaps that will make her press on without him.  
"If you need help, I'll come running."  
He knows that this probably is a lie, but what else can he do? He won't let Ib stay here with him.  
Her grip slowly weakens, but she's still hesitating and bites her lip. Garry knows what she's thinking, that the worst thing you can be in this place is alone. He puts his hand on her head and pats her for a few seconds, while flashing her a real smile. This child is special, and he knows that she'll make it out of here alive, even without his help.  
After a few seconds, Ib nods slowly and starts walking away from him, towards the stairs. She stops just as she reaches them, and looks back at him.  
"Go on..." Garry needs to take a ragged breath in the middle of the sentence, when he feels Mary pulling another petal from the rose. "...Ahead."

He manages to stay on his feet long enough for Ib to vanish up the stairs, before collapsing in a pile on the floor. He lays there for a few seconds without even breathing, everything hurts. He can feel the wounds underneath his clothes forming, and it feels like someone is standing on his lungs. Garry takes a few breaths and manages to pull himself up into a sitting position, his back against the wall.  
For every second, his vision blurs a bit more and it starts to get darker around the corner of his eyes. He can barely see the childlike drawings of stars on the wall on the opposite side. Garry haven't really thought about it before, his first priority hadn't been to enjoy the environment while running, but he doesn't really have a choice right now. And he kinds of enjoy it, while this might not be the best pieces of art in the gallery, but it feels calming, somehow. It feels safe.

The thoughts spinning around inside of his head is impossible for Garry to push aside, even if he's tired. So very tired.

The first thing that he thinks about is, of all the things that he should be thinking of in his last moments, is macaroons. He smiles, since it's a rather absurd thought. Those macaroons he had tried at that café were really good. Maybe Ib would like them too? He had promised her that they would get out here together, and then he'd take her to that café and they could eat those sweets together. That would have been nice; he rather enjoys Ib's company and he wishes that they could've spent more time together. But too bad that won't happen now.

He thinks about his other friends and his family, back in the normal world. Will they realize that he's missing or will they continue with their lives like he never existed? Maybe no one is going to remember him. What would've happened if he hadn't visited the gallery this day, would someone end up here instead of him, or maybe Ib would have been here alone with all these scary creatures. He shivers at that thought.  
But he doesn't regret exchanging Mary his rose for Ib's for a single second. It was worth it. Because Ib will survive.  
And with that thought, Garry breathes a final breath and closes his eyes for the last time.

Ib returns to check on Garry after looking around on the upper floors and finds him asleep. She thinks that it's an odd place for someone to sleep, but she understands that Garry must be tired. After all, she doesn't think that he have slept at all since they met. Ib sits next to him for a while, just to see if he would wake up, so they could continue together.  
He doesn't get up.  
Ib closes his coat around him, the same coat he borrowed her when she fainted, just so he won't get cold. While closing his coat, Garry's lighter falls out from his pocket. He wouldn't mind if she borrowed it, right? She thinks that she could use it on the vines covering the door on the floor upstairs.  
With the lighter carefully placed in her pocket, Ib once again walks up the stairs. She's going to find a way out of this place, so she and Garry can escape when he wakes up from his rest.

She's just nine years old, and has yet to realize that the kind of rest Garry is having isn't the kind of rest that you'll wake up from again.


End file.
